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DIRECTIVE No

DIRECTIVE No.368-TTg ON THE 22ND OF JUNE 1995 OF THE PRIME MINISTER ON PRACTICING THRIFT AND FIGHTING WASTEFULNESS IN STATE OFFICES, THE ARMED FORCES, MASS ORGANIZATIONS AND STATE-OWNED BUSINESSES

In furtherance of the resolution of the National Assembly and the Directive of the Secretariat of the Party Central Committee on practicing thrift and fighting wastefulness, the Prime Minister requests the Ministers, the Heads of ministerial-level agencies and the agencies attached to the Government, the Presidents of the People's Committees at various levels, the Heads of public offices and administrative and professional units, the armed forces, State-owned businesses, mass organizations and associations, which are granted budget allocations for use, to immediately organize the implementation of the following work:

1. In erecting office buildings:

- Temporarily suspending the erection of new office buildings as stipulated by Decision No.829-TTg on the 30th of December 1994 of the Prime Minister. In case of necessity, the agency concerned must apply for a written permit from the Prime Minister and must strictly observe the process and scale of the State's infrastructure construction, and can only use the source of infrastructure construction capital stipulated in the annual plan.

- The Ministry of Construction shall discuss with the Ministry of Finance and other agencies concerned to urgently set the standards for the work offices and work rooms of different types of agencies and officials at different levels, and the use of conference halls, meeting rooms, guest-houses..., and submit it to the Prime Minister for decision. On that basis, the branches and localities shall plan their work places and work rooms; make a plan to repair the existing projects and be prepared to renovate existing projects and build new ones when conditions permit. As an immediate step, it is necessary to re-arrange the existing facilities, and see to it that the work places are rational, economical, proper, and practical. The public offices and organizations which have been re-organized can use only an office space commensurate with their new staff, and must return the excess office space to the Government for management. The Ministry of Finance on behalf of the Government shall receive and manage such office space and submit to the Government a plan for its distribution and use.

In 1995 and the first half of 1996, the Ministry of Finance shall discuss with the Ministry of Construction to draft a plan to take over and re-distribute the part of excess office and guest-house space resulting from the re-organization of public offices, units and mass organizations at the central level, and submit it to the Prime Minister for decision. At the same time, they must give guidance to various localities in doing such work.

2. In the purchase and use of cars:

- In 1995-1996, those public offices, armed forces, State-owned enterprises, mass organizations and associations, which are granted subsidies by the State budget, are temporarily banned from buying cars. The Ministry of Finance must cancel right away any budget allocations that have been set in the State budget plan in 1995 for the purchase of cars. All public offices and units must make an inventory of the cars in their possession, classify them, and re-distribute them for use in their own branch and locality. The re-distribution of cars among businesses is conducted by way of buying and selling. Among the administrative and professional offices, it is undertaken by way of increasing or decreasing their budget capital without giving any additional budget allocation.

In special cases, the purchase of cars must be approved by the Prime Minister. The Head of the public office which applies for the Prime Minister's approval must bear responsibility for any consequence arising from this purchase. Any State-owned enterprise, which is allowed to buy a car, must pay for it with its own capital (not with the budget capital).

- The Ministry of Finance shall have to make a total inventory of all the cars in the State's possession being used at those public offices and organizations which are granted State budget allocations (with regard to the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of the Interior, they must inventorize all the cars in their own possession, make a re-distribution plan, and submit it to the Ministry of Finance). The Ministry of Finance shall combine all these inventories into a single one, make a plan for managing and re-distributing these cars among the Ministries, branches, and localities, and submit it to the Government by the end of the third quarter of 1995 at the latest.

- The Government Commission on Organization and Personnel shall have to work with the Ministry of Finance in drafting regulations for the use of cars, setting clear-cut conditions for each level; at the same time, they must prepare a policy to encourage cadres to use public transport means in going to work, and submit it to the Prime Minister for issue and application on a national scale.

3. In the purchase of appliances and equipment for use at public offices:

- All public offices, mass organizations, associations, the armed forces and State-owned enterprises must be practical in buying appliances and equipment for their own needs, and should not buy more than planned at the beginning of each year.

- The Government Commission on Organization and Personnel shall have to work with the Ministry of Finance in drafting regulations on the purchase of appliances and equipment as required by the work of each type of offices at different levels and submit it to the Prime Minister for issuance with the aim of gradually ensuring standard, modern, but economical working conditions for them.

4. In the use of electricity, telephones and fax machines:

- The State Treasury shall pay electricity bills within the amount specified each year for the public offices, the armed forces, mass organizations and associations which are granted budget allocations. It shall not pay electricity bills for public employees and workers at their homes or residential quarter.

The Ministry of Finance shall work with the Ministry of Energy in setting the amounts of electricity for use by each type of offices and units, and for each category of public employees and workers for application on a national scale as from the 1st of January 1996.

- All public employees and workers must be economical in using telephones, telegraph and fax machines. Public funds shall not pay any private telephone, telegraph or fax bill.

The Ministry of Finance shall work with the Government Commission on Organization and Personnel, and the General Post Office in issuing concrete regulations on the conditions for the installation of public service phones at private homes for those who really need to settle public work outside working hours. On this basis, the public offices and mass organizations should check the existing phone numbers and make them comply with the regulations. Those who want to make a phone call to another country to settle a public affair can do so only after getting the approval of the Head of their office.

5. In the use of public service buildings:

To apply step by step the regime of public service buildings, the Ministry of Finance shall work with the Ministry of Construction and the Government Commission on Organization and Personnel in drafting a Statute on public service buildings, making a clear distinction between public service buildings and private homes, defining the positions and criteria required for the use of public service buildings, and the regime for each level in the use of public service buildings; review the existing housing fund (old villas), and submit it to the Prime Minister for decision. Pending the availability of public service building, the houses used by those officials who are entitled to the use of public service buildings are temporarily considered as "houses-cum-public service buildings"; the users of "houses-cum-public service buildings" have only to pay the rent already accounted for in their salaries.

6. Regarding the expenditures in organizing conferences and receiving guests:

a/ Expenditures for conferences:

- All branches and levels must carefully weigh and strictly limit the organization of conferences, receptions in celebration of their founding anniversaries, and seminars, in terms of the contents, the number of participants, and the time for such events. The work-reviewing conferences, anniversary celebrations, and seminars of the Ministries and branches shall be funded either fully or partially by the State budget. Such events, if held on a national scale, must have the approval of the Prime Minister; and if held on a provincial or municipal scale, must have the approval of the Minister concerned or the Presidents of the People's Committees of the provinces and cities directly under the Central Government.

Spending for conferences and seminars must comply with the regimes and conditions stipulated by the Ministry of Finance, and must be included in the annual draft budget spendings of the units concerned; no additional spending outside the plan and beyond the conditions stipulated should be made from whatever source of funding. The distribution of gifts, bonus, or lunch payment to those in the State's payroll who attend conferences is strictly prohibited (except lecturers at scientific seminars who are entitled to separate stipulations). So is spending for cultural and art activities and decorations outside the stipulated norms. The delegates who attend conferences must pay for their board and lodging with their traveling and accommodation allowances and part of their salary. The use of cigarettes, liquor and beer at all conferences is prohibited.

b/ Spending for receptions:

- All public offices and units must strictly comply with the regulations on spending for receptions. They can present gifts to guests coming on a working visit in case of necessity as required by international practice on protocol towards foreign guests.

- Simplifying the procedure of receiving Party and State leaders and senior officials who pay working visits to the localities and grassroots units. Organizing practical receptions and working sessions. Refraining from mobilizing a large number of people to welcome them, which causes waste of money and time. Such working delegations should be composed of only the persons who are directly involved in the work to be done.

- No liquor, beer and cigarettes shall be used in working sessions with foreign guests (except for a number of cases as required by international practice). The Ministry of Finance shall set the board, lodging and traveling allowances for those foreign guests whose visits are funded by the Vietnamese side. As for those officials of the host office who are assigned to welcome and work with the foreign guests, if they must accompany the delegation to various localities and grassroots units and stay overnight there, they must also use their traveling allowances to pay for part of their board and lodging as in other working trips.

c/ The Ministry of Finance shall supplement and amend the spending rates for conferences, seminars, meetings, and receptions (including receptions of foreign guests) at all levels for uniform application on a national scale in a uniform way on the principle of thriftiness.

7. In case of working visits abroad:

- Those agencies authorized to grant permission to various delegations to go on working visits to foreign countries must carefully calculate the number of persons and the contents of work to be done in order to avoid redundancy and wastefulness.

- Spending for those delegations going on working visits abroad with State allocations must be included in the annual budget plan, and must be granted on a case-by-case basis by the financial institution by decision of the authorized agency.

- The Ministry of Finance shall review, supplement or amend the stipulations and spending rates (including gifts for guests) for those delegations going on working visits abroad with our budget allocations.

8. All other administrative spendings must comply with the conditions and rates fixed by the Ministry of Finance.

9. All State-owned enterprises must practice economy and fight wastefulness.

The Managing Boards, the General Directors, and Directors of State-owned enterprises must strengthen their management of all activities of production and trading to strictly practice economy and fight wastefulness, with particular emphasis on the following cases:

a/ Closely supervising the purchase and sale of equipment, materials and commodities. Detecting and promptly handling the raising of buying prices, lowering of sale prices, and forgery of invoices to pocket the difference in payment. The General Directors, Directors, and the Control Commissions must be directly responsible for these wrong doings when they are discovered by the State Auditing agency.

Spendings for contacts, signing contracts, brokerage, and bonuses must be closely managed and fully proved by legal documents, and must be truthfully reported to the authorized management and supervision agencies. No payment may be deducted from a public fund to remit to or buy gifts for the management agency at a higher level outside the State's stipulations.

b/ No enterprise-managing agency is allowed to compel the enterprises to give it any payment outside the financial stipulations for spending in addition to the plan and budget allocation already approved.

No State agency or organization at any level is allowed to urge the enterprises to forcibly raise money to set up any fund for spending outside the financial regulations.

The Ministry of Finance must issue as soon as possible stipulations on management spendings in the State-owned enterprises.

10. Organization of implementation:

- Apart from the above-mentioned issues, a very important measure to practice economy in spendings is to streamline organization, intermediary links, and staff, renovate the work style, limit to the full the exercise of managerial work through prolonged meetings and discussions, and practical and efficient directions of work must be laid down, especially in the field of investment in infrastructure construction... The Heads of units must be responsible for any impractical policy and plan which may cause waste of time and money.

- The Ministers, the Heads of the ministerial-level agencies, the Heads of the agencies attached to the Government, the administrative and professional offices and units, the armed forces, and mass organizations which are granted State budget subsidies, and the Presidents of the People's Committees of the provinces and cities directly under the Central Government shall have to implement this Directive.

- The public offices, State-owned enterprises, and economic and social organizations from the central to local levels must work out their own plan to practice economy and fight wastefulness with concrete measures for each sector and each period of time. Every month, they must review their work in practicing economy and fighting wastefulness, promptly commend those who have done it well, and penalize those who have wastefully used public property and fund, and report it to the management agency at the higher level. The management agency at the higher level must check and guide the units under its management to carry out their plan of practicing economy and fighting wastefulness. The Head of the management agency at the higher level must share the responsibility for any case of corruption and wastefulness at a unit under his management.

- The Ministry of Finance shall have to follow the tempo and results of the practice of economy of all branches and levels, and every three months make a report to the Prime Minister and propose proper forms of commendation and discipline; at the same time, it must study and urgently draft a Decree on expenditure control and submit it to the Government for issuance, making a clear distinction between the responsibility and power of the expenditure ratifier and the accountant of the State Treasury, and step by step putting into practice the mechanism by which all State budget expenditures must be paid through the State Treasury. As an immediate step, the purchase of appliances, equipment and means (including cars) worth 10 million VND or more by public offices for their work must be conducted by public bidding in the presence of a representative of the financial institution of the same level. The accountant of the State Treasury shall make the payment only after receiving the full expenditure dossier and plan for the purchase and the bidding dossier, and the valid and clear invoices of the purchase. The accountant of the State Treasury can refuse payment for any invalid dossier and invoices. If the account of the State Treasury makes payment for any wrong spending, he/she must compensate for it with his/her own money.

- Every three months, the Deputy Prime Minister in charge of various sectors shall have to check and direct the tempo and sum up the results of the practice of economy in the sector under their management. With regard to the key sectors and key units, the Government shall consider reports and give its opinion in each period.

- The press, news agency, radio and television stations at both the central and local levels shall have to put to public censure those individuals and units that have violated the Directive on practicing economy and fighting wastefulness, and at the same time, highly commend those units and individuals that have satisfactorily carried out this Directive.

For the Prime Minister

Deputy Prime Minister

PHAN VAN KHAI